Ars talks to Sony about the continued success of the PS2 hardware, as well as …

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The PlayStation is, at the moment, the most popular piece of gaming hardware in the world. After selling more than 136 million pieces of hardware around the world, the PS2 recently saw its price drop to $99.99 in North America, that magical sub-$100 price point that makes the system so palatable for gamers on a budget. In fact, Sony is the only major console maker that is still interested in (and profiting from) its last-generation hardware.

Ars caught up with John Koller, Director of Hardware Marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America, to talk about the system that refuses to die.

A changing audience

While some core gamers may still have PS2s in their entertainment centers, the demographic for the system has changed. "At this stage of its lifecycle, the primary audience centers on casual and social gamers, skewing more towards families who want to play as a family, and individuals who enjoy PlayStation 2 for its wide variety of games and its capabilities as a DVD and CD player," Koller told Ars.

"From a pure gaming perspective, the PlayStation 2 provides a ton of value to those who want a gaming system that feeds into family night or other social activities, considering the low cost of entry for the hardware as well as for the games themselves."

PS2 sales are also important because they get gamers comfortable and happy with the Sony name and then when they're ready—it's time for a PS3. That's the theory, at least.

"We've found that almost 80 percent of PlayStation 3 owners either currently own or have in the past owned a PlayStation 2, so that statistic on its own speaks volumes," Koller said. "One could argue that there's no richer source of PS3 purchasers than the 50 million PlayStation 2 owner base, and we're engaging those PlayStation 2 owners as they get ready to jump into next-gen with PS3."

There's also the God of War effect: the best PlayStation properties will be continued on the PS3, giving people a strong reason to buy the newer system to keep up with their favorite characters. "Many of the most loved PlayStation 2 franchises are now migrating to PlayStation 3, which we've found to be a significant driver of PS3 purchases," Koller said. "We view the migration of the PlayStation 2 consumer to PlayStation 3 as paramount to the success of that platform, and have absolute confidence that that transition will occur."

Salivation over God of War 3 is not rare these days, and it seems many are waiting for that game to upgrade into the newer system.

But there's a problem: retailers like GameStop are flush with used PS2 hardware, and they are aggressively pushing the higher-margin used systems over Sony's $100 new units. Koller downplays this challenge, noting that there's nothing like that new-console smell. "The secondary market is a challenge to all console manufacturers," he told Ars when asked about used sales. "Certainly there are quite a few used PlayStation 2's out in the market. However, we think the secondary market will be less of a concern now that PlayStation 2 is $99. Generally speaking, consumers prefer 'new, works for sure', over 'used, hope this works like I want it to'—and the price point makes this decision even easier."

What's impressive is that we're talking about the PS2 at all at this point in its life, but the numbers don't lie: this is a system that people still want. "We're almost nine years into its 10-year lifecycle, but I really don't see an end date in sight for the PlayStation 2, because the consumer demand is still there and developers are continuing to support the platform with new games," Koller said. "We've always said that the only way that the PlayStation 2 stops selling is if we stop supporting it."